Orphan Black Recap: Strange Love

Vlada Gelman

Sun, May 25, 2014 at 2:00 AM UTC

On this Saturday’s Orphan Black, Suits star Patrick J. Adams revealed the softer side of Helena, while Sarah learned her origins.

But before we get to the big mythology info dump, let’s talk about that scene. You know the one because if you’re anything like me, it won’t soon leave your mind. It doesn’t pack the “OMG, what is she doing?!” shock of last week’s bizarre Rachel/Paul sex scene, but it’s nonetheless memorable — and so not what I expected from Adams’ guest spot.

While Sarah is busy tracking Swan Man, Helena takes a side visit to a local bar, where after being harassed by a fellow patron, she meets Jesse (played by Adams). He gets a burly bro to back off, she thanks him with a White Russian, he offers her some of his pork rinds…. It’s a match made in Heaven. The two get talking and she spins a tale, pulling from her “sisters’” lives: She tells him she was a police detective in Ukraine, then a brilliant scientist who quit to be with her family, and finally she went to rehab.

Jesse is impressed by the life she’s lived. “Wonder how a simple guy like me keeps a girl like you in a place like this,” he muses.

With arm wrestling, apparently. But just as they’re about to go for another round, the music in the bar changes and Jesse offers his hand to Helena for a dance. As the two embrace, Helena’s eyes grow watery, and you can’t help but be overwhelmed for her. Most likely, this is the first time a guy has expressed that kind of interest in her, and it’s a lovely reminder that for all her craziness, Helena is a real person with real feelings. She wants love just like anyone else, probably even more so considering how messed up her life has been.

But Helena and Jesse’s sweet kiss is interrupted by burly dude, who tries to cut in. Helena immediately reverts back to her old self and starts using billiards equipment as weapons and then claws at his eyes. Jesse looks on a bit horrified, but he still comes to her defense. Alas, she gets taken away in cuffs.

As for what we learned in the info-heavy episode:

MRS. S IS IN THE KNOW | Sarah tracks Ethan Duncan to a house, but the person who answers the door isn’t Swan Man. It’s Mrs. S, who reveals that she and her people hid Duncan after he came over to their side. In return, he gave them info on horrific child experiments and Amelia. Meanwhile, an exchange with Paul unveils that Mrs. S also knows a lot about Beth-turned-Rachel’s monitor. She’s aware that he’s stuck between Leekie and Rachel — and “a man with two masters answers only to himself.”

“If you think you’re taking Sarah back, you have to kill me,” she continues. “But you don’t want do that or Afghanistan would have all been for naught. In your position, you could really use a new friend.” And so, an uneasy alliance is formed?

GIRLS IN DEMAND | Sarah eventually gets her moment with Duncan, who doesn’t know how many clones there are. He and Susan weren’t the only implementation team. The military recruited them, but when they managed to clone human embryos, an oversight committee declared them an ethical failure. After the military pulled out, Dyad came in as a contractor. “Why? What did you want?” asks Sarah. “Babies,” he replies. “Little girls.” But why little girls? For what purpose?

LITTLE GIRL LOST | According to Duncan, the Neolutionists inside Dyad, aka Leekie, “stole” Rachel and wouldn’t let him and Susan raise her. Duncan was going to expose everything, but Leekie found out and killed Susan. So that’s why Ethan has been in hiding all these years.

FAMILY MATTERS | Scott gets a job at Dyad, working alongside Cosima and Delphine. He knows that they had him looking at clone DNA — he doesn’t know it’s Cosima’s, though — and he’s figured out something else, too: Whoever they cloned has a female relative, like a niece or a daughter. Delphine swears Scott to secrecy about his discovery. He can’t even tell Cosima, she says.

VIC THE D–K | Sarah’s troublesome ex is back — bonding in rehab with Alison! — and he’s working for Angie. He’ll get the dirt on the mystery doppelganger, and she’ll have his charges dropped. I’m not sure partnering two of the show’s most irksome characters, Vic and Angie, was a good idea, but at least the new “Zen” Vic is kind of funny. “I can’t help but think the godhead has put you here to test me,” he tells Alison.

Orphan Black fans, what did you think of Helena and Jesse’s love connection? Got any theories on Duncan’s revelations and Scott’s discovery? And how weird was it to see Helena smiling in the car with Sarah? Hit the comments with your thoughts!

Orphan Black Recap: Strange Love

Solve the daily Crossword

35,898 people played the daily Crossword recently. Can you solve it faster than others?35,898 people played the daily Crossword recently. Can you solve it faster than others?

Crossword

Entertainment News

Orphan Black Recap: Strange Love

Solve the daily Crossword

Recommended articles